Adventurous and Sustainable Eating

The Perennial Plate

The first film from Season 4 of The Perennial Plate follows Keri Brandt, a former vegetarian and Gender studies professor, as she shares her newfound truth of raising/eating animals after marrying into a Colorado Ranching Family.

Danny, Mira, James & I forget the dogs name and not sure he’s with you, but I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the episode. It was so close to home that it was more meaningful to me than somewhere across the world. Great job. Good luck! Have fun!
Steve

Hey Uncle! Thanks for the note and thanks for watching, I really appreciate you taking the time. It is nice to be making films in the US again, obviously we love to travel abroad, but it has been amazing to be in Colorado. See you in August? then we’re off to Ireland.. where I know you love. Maureen and Steve babysitting team?

What a wonderful opener for season 4. After following your previews 3 seasons, I can see that you all took the series to a whole new paradigm. With high-level production standards such as these, what you’re now doing are true short documentaries in earnest. The stunning cinematography, editing, sound, music, story line, and the addition of drone shots among other things, all combined for one beautiful piece of storytelling.

I’m in awe at how you decided to uproot yourselves (from home and family) and redesigned your lives in order to continue traveling the world and produce more of these episodes. The dedication, passion and love you invest in your work is palpable on each and every shot. This is a quiet example that shows that to do something meaningful we don’t need an army but a single minded determination and a small tight-knit team (baby and dog included).

In a world hell-bent in making us mindless consumers it’s very refreshing to see stories of hope, love, tenacity and perseverance around the one subject that matters most: food. In your own ways, episode by episode, you’re all redefining the idea of success, happiness and purpose. It has been said that to change the world we only need to change one person. And then another. It’s very apparent that by telling these stories your ultimate intent becomes clear.

Gustavo, thank you so much for our generous comment. I really appreciate you sticking with the show and watching it grow and change. We are trying our best to have a lifestyle that lets us do what we love and stick together as a family, hopefully it works. Thanks again!

can’t stand why raising grass-fed beef is better than the normal raising.. you spend a lot more time raising those animals. More time needed more water wasted and more gas methane on atmosphere.You guys may think that those animals got better quality of life..But why it’s matter if you’re selling then to death like a product anyway? grass-fedding animals it’s far from ethical. you’re taking away there lives very soon than they can live..And as she said this animals want to live just like you and me.

thanks for you comment mateus. Keri was sharing her experience and talking about a difficult conundrum for all people. She found that there is no right or wrong, but i think she was saying that a cow fed on grass is less harm to the animal than a cow in a feedlot – she wasn’t claiming perfection, just a more natural way for the animals. That being said, there are different types of grass-fed operations, some of them practicing rotational grazing can actually benefit the environment. I’ve been to ranches where native grasses, birds and soil have all grown and improved dramatically after a few years of rotational grazing.

Obviously all the obstacles and issues can’t come up in a small segment on this topic. But it bears mentioning that the grass fed demand is also killing wildlife, because of the demand to move cows onto land that is natural to wild animals-wolves, coyotes, foxes, birds and horses. Then these animals are suddenly pests, suddenly “predators” to cattle that never should have been there in the first place. Is it a slightly kinder method of raising an animal that will ultimately be slaughtered? It depends on how broad you decide to see the picture.

You should note that this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The way ranchers raise their cattle, especially now with many more taking care of the land than just letting cows do their thing before seeing them again a few months later, leave more than enough room, and food for other wildlife. Cows are actually beneficial in IMPROVING wildlife habitat where having no cows or other livestock would leave the land to waste, unmanaged, unproductive, and soon turned into crop production. Crop production is what kills more wildlife than anything. North America’s grasslands are disappearing at an alarming rate NOT because of grass-fed beef, but because of raising crops for primarily oil and ethanol, if not the “industrialized” agriculture. I have visited many ranches and have found more of an abundance of wildlife there than I have in a crop field or place where wild land has been “protected.” So yes, raising cattle on grass still is the most kindest method of meat production there ever can exist on this planet.

can’t stand why raising grass-fed beef is better than the normal raising.. you spend a lot more time raising those animals. More time needed more water wasted and more gas methane on atmosphere.You guys may think that those animals got better quality of life..But why it’s matter if you’re selling them to death like a product anyway? grass-fedding animals it’s far from ethical. you’re taking away there lives very soon than they can live..And as she said this animals want to live just like you and me.

Thanks for tackling a very complex and often divisive subject. I’ve given up trying to understand others’ food choices and instead try to look at, inform, and understand my own.
I’ve been following your work through all the seasons and continue to be delighted. This most recent episode does not disappoint!
Thank you.

thanks Della! unfortunately we did not get to ride 🙁 but thanks for continuing to watch and comment and think. thinking about our food a little differently is the main purpose of these films, i suppose.

ironic as heck – we eat the cows and ride the horses / love the dogs and eat the hogs / we like to think we are on top of the food chain (mosquitos and spiders not withstanding) but being on top also infers responsibility / good job presenting this aspect of the food chain – hope it causes people to think

Well said and depicted. I began researching meat production a year ago and was astonished to break my bubble of ignorance. I now buy my pastured meat from a local farm, Synergistic Acres, where they care deeply and love their animals from beginning to end. I never thought I would have chicken feet in my freezer but I do…for delicious and nurturing bone broth.
P.S. Read about you in Experiemce Life